Manufacturer:

BOEING

Markings:

Boeing/Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB, California, 1977

Designation:

YC-14

Serial Number:

72-1873

BOEING YC-14

The YC-14 was designed in the early 1970s as a possible replacement for the C-130. It and the McDonnell-Douglas YC-15 competed in U.S. Air Force tests during 1976 and 1977. While both aircraft performed well neither one was selected for production. Instead the Air Force settled on an improved version of the C-130. The YC-14 introduced several new technologies and techniques in aircraft design, the most obvious of them is the positioning of the jet engines to exhaust over the top of the wing. This and specially designed flaps allow the jet thrust to provide additional lift giving the plane a very impressive short-field performance and allowing it to land at as little as 99 miles per hour.